By The Fire
by MapleStreet Twirler
Summary: She was scared. She was hurt. She was tired of trying to balance being a regular 17 year old and being a target for cold blooded murder. All she needed to feel better was the company of a certain messy haired, bespectacled Head Boy. LE/JP


**A/N: Hello there! Thought I'd try my hand at writing some fanfiction. This is my first attempt at it, so please be nice. See you at the bottom!**

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**MAYBE**

Things weren't ok. She knew that. There was a mad man out there trying to kill people like her, for reasons they couldn't help. Things were getting worse day by day in Wizarding England, and it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine in the muggle world either; she knew that too. Hogwarts – her _home_ – was duller than it ever was. People no longer smiled and stopped to talk in the corridors. There was no happy chatter during meals in the Great Hall. She saw it all, and it broke her heart. Why couldn't people see that this was all _stupid?_ That the names they called people – _halfbreed, mudblood, monster_ – were just that: names.

Lily Evans snorted. For people who claimed to be "Superior", they seemed wholly incapable of elementary logic. She prodded the fire in the Gryffindor common room viciously, watching the flames lick at her most recent letter from home.

_Yes,_ she mused. _Things were bad. But this? This definitely took the cake. _Her sister was marrying that whale of a man – Vernon. Lily shuddered. He was a horrid person – she couldn't even bear to consider him _human._

_But Tuney loves him_, a voice in her head whispered. _She loves him, and he makes her happy._ And really, that's all she wanted, wasn't it? For her sister to be happy?

Lily would've bared it all with a smile. She would've dealt with the fluffy dresses, the wedding shopping, the spas, the simpering ninnies Petunia called her friends; all of it, if only Petunia had told her herself. She didn't even expect a lengthy journal entry type thing. Just a simple note saying:

_Lily, I'm getting married. I'd love for you to be there._

_Apparently, that was too much to ask of her only sister,_ Lily thought, her eyes stinging. Instead, she'd received a letter from her mother saying that Petunia was engaged to Vernon Dursley – her boyfriend of a year. They were to be married in the Christmas vacation, when Lily was home from school.

_I'm sure Petunia meant to tell you herself, love - _her mother had wrote – _but she's far too busy with wedding preparations. You know how these things are._

Yes, Lily was sure Tuney meant to write her. Just like she meant to congratulate her when she became the Gryffindor prefect, and the Head Girl two years later. Just like she meant to wish Lily for all her birthdays.

_Plop._ The tears in her eyes welled over, and soon Lily was sobbing quietly into the Head's Common Room. She did not expect anyone else to be up since it was well past curfew. Therefore, the sound of feet shuffling down the stairs that lead to her counterpart's room went entirely unnoticed until she heard the familiar voice of James Potter.

"Lily?" he called uncertainly.

She tried to stop her tears, and wiped discreetly at her wet cheeks, all the while staring into the fire.

"What is it James?"

"What're you doing up so late? Shouldn't you be in… Sweet Merlin, are you crying?" He had been edging slowly towards the couch, attempting not to startle her – he didn't want to break this new calm that existed in their confusing relationship; but when he saw her tear tracked face, all caution was thrown to the wind, and he was sitting by her side on the couch, trying to get her to face him,

"Lily, what's wrong?" he asked panic evident in his voice. His was trying in vain to pull her chin up and get her eyes to meet his.

Lily struggled against his warm hands. "It's nothing, James," she said, refusing to meet his concerned gaze. "Go back to bed."

"You're obviously upset about something, Lily," he said softly. "I can't just leave you here. Now, c'mon. Tell me what's wrong."

At last, those tear filled emerald orbs met his hazel ones, and the pain he saw in them broke his heart. When she saw the tender look in his eyes, the little bit of control she had just managed to gain disappeared completely, and she was sobbing harder than before, with no hope of stemming the flow of tears.

James had no idea what to do, so he simply gathered in his arms and held her while she cried. He rested his cheek on her hair and soothingly stroked her back. Finally, she drew back, and sniffled.

"Sorry about that," she said, her voice hoarse.

"Don't worry about it. Now, do you wanna tell me what's got you this upset?"

"It's my sister," she said. Slowly, under the warmth of his hold, the words fell out of her mouth. She told him everything – about Petunia, about how frightened she was about Voldemort, about how she worry for her family, about Severus, about NEWTS, about her future which looked so bleak - because who would hire a pathetic little _mudblood_? – everything. The whole time, he kept rubbing her back, and whispered soothing words to her, but did nothing more to interrupt her. He listened patiently, and when she was done, he held her a little longer, before he wiped away the lingering tears, stood up and offered her his arm. When she took it, he led her up to her room, and told her to go to sleep.

"Oh, and Evans?" he said. She paused with her hand on her doorknob.

"Yeah?"

"You'll make it through this. You're strong." With a smile at her that was nothing like his usual cocky grin, he headed towards his own bedroom.

Lily stepped into her room and shut the door behind her. She smiled gently.

_No, things weren't alright… but maybe they would be…_

_ -END-_

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**A/N: There. That was my first attempt at writing Harry Potter fanfiction. I hope you liked it. Please review! :)**


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